Ref: LEX-72041
Sean of the clan Green
Via email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
Dear Sean
Decision on your Freedom of Information request
I refer to your request to the former Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment of
11 October 2022 that was directed to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the
Environment and Water (
department) on 16 October 2022 for access under the
Freedom of
Information Act 1982 (Cth) (
FOI Act) to the following documents:
‘I request any and all documents and recorded communications regarding any
and all rain making or cloud seeding activities undertaken across all states and
territories of Australia between 1st of August 2020 and today, the 11th of October 2022.’
My decision
The department holds 10 documents (totalling 20 pages) that relate to your request.
I have decided to:
• grant you
full access to 5 documents (documents 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9); and
• grant you
part access to 5 documents (documents 1, 2, 5, 8 and 10) with some of the
content removed; and
I have decided that certain parts of documents that you have requested are exempt under the
FOI Act as the information is personal information about other people.
On 24 October 2022, the department acknowledged your request and advised you that we
would not include personal details about our staff. You did not contact the department again
about this. Staff details have therefore been deleted in accordance with section 22(1)(a)(ii) of
the FOI Act.
Documents that are part of this FOI request also contain information that is out of the scope of
this request as they relate to matters other than rainmaking or cloud seeding activities
undertaken across all states and territories of Australia between 1 August 2020 and 11 October
2022, which is the subject of your request. Out of scope material has been deleted under section
22(1)(a)(ii) of the FOI Act and pages that are out of scope have been removed entirely due to the
size of certain documents.
Please see the schedule at
Attachment A to this letter for a detailed list of the documents and
the reasons for my decision.
T +61 2 6274 1111
John Gorton Building
GPO Box 3090
dcceew.gov.au
F +61 2 9094 2221
King Edward Terrace
Canberra ACT 2601
ABN 63 573 932 849
Parkes ACT 2600
How we will send your documents to you
The documents are attached.
You can ask for a review of my decision
If you wish to seek an internal review, you must apply to the department within
30 days after
the day you are notified of this decision. An application for internal review must be made in
writing by post to the FOI Officer or email t
o xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Alternatively, you may apply directly to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner
(
OAIC) to review my decision. An application for review by the Information Commissioner must
be made in writing within
60 days after the day you are notified of this decision. You can also
make a complaint to the Information Commissioner if you have concerns about how the
department handled your request.
You can find information about requesting a review, making a complaint, and other information
about FOI on the OAIC websi
te www.oaic.gov.au or phone the OAIC on 1300 363 992.
Further assistance
If you have any questions, please emai
l xxx@xxxxxx.xxx.xx.
Yours sincerely
Laura Smith
A/g Branch Head
Environment Approvals Division
15 November 2022
2
Attachment A
LIST OF DOCUMENTS FOR RELEASE
LEX-72041
Doc Pages
Description
Decision
Exemption
Comments
No.
1. 1-3
Report of 29 April 2021
Release in part
s 47F
Page 3: personal information exempt
under s 47F
Pages 1-3: out of scope material deleted
under s 22(1)(a)(ii)
2. 4-8
Agenda meeting brief
Release in part
s 47F
Page 4: personal information exempt
under s 47F
Page 4: staff details deleted under
s22(1)(a)(ii)
Pages 4-8: out of scope material deleted
under s 22(1)(a)(ii)
3. 9
Email correspondence of 6 May 2021
Release in full
N/A
Page 9: staff details deleted under
s22(1)(a)(ii)
4. 10
Powerpoint slide from the Contracting Parties Release in full
N/A
N/A
to the London Convention presentation
T +61 2 6274 1111
John Gorton Building
GPO Box 3090
dcceew.gov.au
F +61 2 9094 2221
King Edward Terrace
Canberra ACT 2601
ABN 63 573 932 849
Parkes ACT 2600
Doc
No.
Pages
Description
Decision
Exemption
Comments
5. 11- 12
Email correspondence of 7 March 2022
Release in part
s 47F
Page 12: personal information exempt
under s 47F
Page 11: staff details deleted under
s22(1)(a)(ii)
Page 11: out of scope material deleted
under s 22(1)(a)(ii)
6. 13- 14
Agenda Items
Release in full
N/A
Page 13: staff details deleted under
s22(1)(a)(ii)
Pages 13-14: out of scope material deleted
under s 22(1)(a)(ii)
7. 15- 16
Updated advice of 7 January 2022
Release in full
N/A
Pages 15-16: out of scope material deleted
under s 22(1)(a)(ii)
8. 17
Agenda meeting brief
Release in part
s 47F
Page 17: personal information exempt
under s 47F
Page 17: staff details deleted under
s22(1)(a)(ii)
Page 17: out of scope material deleted
under s 22(1)(a)(ii)
9. 18- 19
Agenda Item on GESAMP report
Release in full
N/A
Pages 18-19: out of scope material deleted
under s 22(1)(a)(ii)
2
Doc
No.
Pages
Description
Decision
Exemption
Comments
10. 20
Department brief
Release in part
s 47F
Page 20: personal information exempt
under s 47F
Page 17: staff details deleted under
s22(1)(a)(ii)
Page 17: out of scope material deleted
under s 22(1)(a)(ii)
3
REASONS FOR DECISION
What you requested
‘I request any and all documents and recorded communications regarding any
and all rain making or cloud seeding activities undertaken across all states and
territories of Australia between 1st of August 2020 and today, the 11th of October 2022.’
What I took into account
In reaching my decision, I took into account:
• your original request received by the department on 16 October 2022;
• the documents that fall within the scope of your request;
• information about:
• the nature of the documents; and
• the department’s operating environment and functions;
• guidelines issued by the Australian Information Commissioner under section 93A of the
FOI Act (Guidelines);
• the FOI Act.
Reasons for my decision
I am authorised to make decisions under section 23(1) of the FOI Act.
I have decided that certain parts of documents that you requested are exempt under the FOI Act.
My findings of fact and reasons for deciding that an exemption applies to those documents are
discussed below.
Section 47F of the FOI Act - unreasonable disclosure of personal information
I have applied the conditional exemption in section 47F(1) to documents 1, 2, 5, 8 and 10.
Section 47F of the FOI Act relevantly provides:
'(1) A document is conditionally exempt if its disclosure under this Act would involve the
unreasonable disclosure of personal information about any person (including a
deceased person).
(2) In determining whether the disclosure of the document would involve the
unreasonable disclosure of personal information, an agency or Minister must have
regard to the following matters:
(a) the extent to which the information is well known;
(b) whether the person to whom the information relates is known to be (or to have
been) associated with the matters dealt with in the document;
(c) the availability of the information from publicly accessible sources;
(d) any other matters that the agency or Minister considers relevant.'
Personal Information
The term 'personal information' is defined as follows:
'...information or an opinion about an identified individual, or an individual who is
reasonably identifiable:
(a) whether the information or opinion is true or not; and
(b) whether the information or opinion is recorded in a material form or not.'
Paragraph 6.130 of the Guidelines provides:
'Personal information can include a person's name, address, telephone number, date of
birth, medical records, bank account details, taxation information and signature.'
I find that documents 1, 2, 5, 8 and 10 contain personal information of Commonwealth
government staff and another person that is not publicly available. This includes their name and
mobile phone number.
Whether disclosure is 'unreasonable'
In addition to the factors specified in section 47F(2) of the FOI Act, paragraph 6.138 of the
Guidelines provides:
'The personal privacy exemption is designed to prevent the unreasonable invasion of
third parties' privacy. The test of 'unreasonableness' implies a need to balance the public
interest in disclosure of government-held information and the private interest in the
privacy of individuals.'
I am satisfied that the disclosure of the third party personal information would be unreasonable
for the following reasons:
• it relates to aspects of an individual’s personal affairs;
• you do not have the consent from the individuals for the release of their personal
information; and
• the information is private and not available in full or in part from publicly-accessible
sources.
On this basis, I have decided that the personal information included in the documents referred to
in the Schedule is conditionally exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act.
Public interest considerations
Section 11A(5) of the FOI Act provides:
'The agency or Minister must give the person access to the document if it is conditionally
exempt at a particular time unless (in the circumstances) access to the document at that
time would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.'
When weighing up the public interest for and against disclosure under section 11A(5) of the FOI
Act, I have taken into account relevant factors in favour of disclosure. In particular, I have
considered the extent to which disclosure would:
• promote the objects of the FOI Act; and
• inform debate on a matter of public importance.
I have also considered the relevant factors weighing against disclosure, indicating that access
would be contrary to the public interest. In particular, I have considered the extent to which
disclosure could reasonably be expected to prejudice an individual's right to privacy.
Based on the above factors, I have decided that in this instance, the disclosure of the documents
would, on balance, be contrary to the public interest.
I have not taken into account any of the irrelevant factors set out in section 11B(4) of the FOI Act
in making this decision.
Conclusion
In summary, I am satisfied that parts of documents, as set out in the Schedule, are conditionally
exempt under section 47F(1) of the FOI Act. Furthermore, I have decided that on balance it
would be contrary to the public interest to release this information. Accordingly, I have decided
not to release the documents in full to you.
As identified in the Schedule, I have deleted the exempt information in the document/s and
released the remaining material in accordance with section 22(1) of the FOI Act.
Summary of my decision
In conclusion, I have decided to:
• grant you full access to 5 documents; and
• grant you part access to 5 documents.
I have decided that:
• documents 1, 2, 5, 8 and 10 are conditionally exempt in part under section 47F(1) of the
FOI Act, and disclosure would be contrary to the public interest for the purposes of
section 11A(5).
